Ring of Bone: Collected Poems [Paperback]

Lew Welch (Author), Gary Snyder (Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 2012

"Lew Welch writes lyrical poems of clarity, humor, and dark probings . . . jazz musical phrasings of American speech is one of Welch's clearest contributions." — Gary Snyder

Lew Welch was a brilliant and troubled poet, legendary among his Beat peers. He disappeared in 1971, leaving a suicide note behind.

Ring of Bone collects poems, songs, and some drawings, documenting the full sweep of his creative output from his early years until his death. First published by legendary poetry editor Donald Allen, this new edition includes photos, a biographic timeline, and a statement of poetics gleaned from Welch's own writing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ring of Bone offers something for nearly every Bay Area poetry lover, including iconic geographical places from Mount Tamalpais to Market Street, plus beloved Bay Area redwoods, eucalyptus and pine. But Ring of Bone offers much more than landscapes for locals. Welch maps monstrous American cities and alienated American spaces. . . ."—San Francisco Chronicle

"In the poet's own words, [Ring of Bone] is a spiritual autobiography . . . no better description of him exists than that which came in his own vision, deep in the wilds of the Klamath Mountains, the poem after which the collection is titled. . . . These 40 years later, Lew, you are missed."—The Rumpus

"Ring of Bone: Collected Poems is Welch's major work. Exuberant, funny, dark, hypnotic, Welch's poems are as infused with nature as [Gary] Snyder's and as spiritually alive as [Philip] Whalen's. They're technically brilliant, grounded in form and wildly experimental. . . ."—The Oregonion

"It's fascinating to trace the evolution of this artist, from his early, lax, exultant style to his later, less jubilant work, characterized by benedictions, invocations, and requests. This is a necessary read for anyone interested in the greater Beat movement and its progenitors.""—Booklist

"By nature of their visionary quality, these poems form a world of dreams and nightmares so convincingly that strict organization proves ultimately unnecessary. Instead, the poems speak to each other across time through their musical tonalities and recurring thematic tensions, thus constructing one of many "rings" invoked by the book’s title. . . ."—HTML Giant

"Ring of Bone serves as an incisive and in-depth summary of Lew Welch's work and spirit. It remains required reading for both fans and scholars of the Beat Generation."—The Electric Review

"Welch's poems ring true to our own experiences with a rare clarity amidst their jazz phrasings and spontaneous feel. . . I give Ring of Bone my strongest recommendation."—The Daily Beat

"It’s not all pretty Buddhist haiku-land, but often there is joy." —Galatea Resurrects

About the Author

Lew Welch was born August 16, 1926 in Phoenix, Arizona. He entered Reed College in 1948, and the following year moved into a house with Gary Snyder; the following year they were joined by Philip Whalen. By the fall of 1949 Welch was co-editor of the school's literary magazine and was writing constantly. He wrote his senior thesis on Gertrude Stein and graduated in 1950.

For a number of years Welch showed his poetry only to close friends. With the emergence of the Beat movement, however, Welch's friends Philip Whalen and Gary Snyder began receiving national attention. Welch's desire to devote himself completely to his poetry was revived, and he soon became a part of the San Francisco poetry scene.

Donald Allen included one of Welch's poems in The New American Poetry - the important anthology published in 1960. That same year Welch's first book, Wobbly Rock, was published. He was drinking heavily during this time, but he continued to write extensively, and in 1965 published three books.

Despite his burgeoning success, Welch's bouts with depression and heavy drinking continued. On May 23, 1971, Gary Snyder went up to Welch's campsite in the Sierra Nevada mountains and found a suicide note in Welch's truck. Despite an extensive search, Welch's body was never recovered.

Donald Allen published much of Welch's work posthumously via Grey Fox Press, now an imprint of City Lights Books.

Gary Snyder is an American poet (often associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance), as well as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist (frequently described as the "poet laureate of Deep Ecology". Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. His work, in his various roles, reflects an immersion in both Buddhist spirituality and nature. Snyder has translated literature into English from ancient Chinese and modern Japanese. For many years, Snyder served as a faculty member at the University of California, Davis, and he also served for a time on the California Arts Council.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: City Lights Publishers; NONE, New & Expanded Edition edition (June 19, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872865797
• ISBN-13: 978-0872865792
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.7 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #675,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Movements & Periods > Beat Generation

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Situating Lew Welch August 26, 2012

By Larry G. Bierman

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

A handsome book, "Ring of Bone" assures Lew Welch a firm place in the galaxy of Beat poets. Welch was comrades with Gregory Corso, Jack Kerouac and especially Gary Snyder and Philip Whalen. Reading his poetry I see him moving toward what Jonathan Stalling calls the "Poetics of Emptiness," the Zen influence prevalent in Beat poetry, especially West Cost Beat poetry. While I enjoy his poetry, the detailed observation of nature, the self-enforced solitudes and his appreciation for language, I wish he had seen his mundane life as legitimate material for his poetry. He worked as a cab driver (and does have a series of "rider" poems that I particularly like), on the docks, as copy editor for Ward's catalogue, and even acted in a Hollywood movie, but all of this experience seems purposely excluded from his poetry. Obviously, from his statement about poetics, he understood where Words come from, but he did not privilege his blue-collar reality. Surely rust on iron drums abandoned along the docks is as mystical as lichen. An important poet, if he had not tragically deleted so much of his life (both aesthetically/editorially and by his suicide at 45) he might even have been a great poet.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beat Keats April 9, 2013

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Lew Welch was a great lyric poet, with a gift for the music of words that equalled Keats and T.S. Eliot. It's a hard gift to handle, as evidenced by the limited and sporadic production of lyric poets generally, and by Welch's own short and stormy life. Comparing artists is unfair, but since Welch has been neglected, it should be said that the best poems in Ring of Bone are better as lyrics than those of Robert Duncan, William Carlos Williams, Charles Olson, Robert Lowell, John Berryman, or any of the other mid-to-late 20th century establishment "greats." They are also better as lyrics than those of other beat poets. Philip Whalen acknowledged this in a letter to Welch after Welch had enthusiastically reviewed his collection, On Bear's Head, in the San Francisco newspaper in 1969: "D.R. Carpenter mailed me a copy of your Chronicle review. I feel enormously flattered & pleased & delighted & at the same time wish that the book amounted to something-- & after all it just DON'T, not really. Any one of your poems is more authentic & solid than this whole wretched book"

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lew Review December 30, 2012

By Rachel

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Noticed this book on the "New Release" shelf at my local library and read it due to being intrigued with the odd cover plus a poet I had been heretofore unaware of. (Bad girl).
Anyway, this Lew Welch was odd and powerful and angry and a bunch of other things too. Perfect. Plus, he (Welch), toys with a lot of words or concepts and language in an (again), intriguing way.
So, my brother's birthday was coming up. (He's fond of The Beats), and yet, I was unclear if he had been familiar with Welch. Purchased his gift thus, from Amazon, along with another little book of Kerouac's haikus.
All arrived clean, timely, etc. Good work! Thank you Amazon!